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Prevalence of ‘head shooting’ and the characteristics of the wounds in culled wild Scottish red deer
Author(s) -
Urquhart K. A.,
McKendrick I. J.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1136/vr.159.3.75
Subject(s) - cervus elaphus , head (geology) , trunk , biology , veterinary medicine , medicine , surgery , ecology , paleontology
The carcases of 230 wild, culled red deer ( Cervus elaphus ) were examined for the presence of bullet wounds and permanent wound tracts to determine the prevalence and significance of wounds involving the head, legs or carcase trunk. Head wounds were found in 17 (7·4 per cent) of the carcases and were classified into two groups: nine in which the marksman was considered to have specifically targeted the head, and eight carcases in which the head wound was considered to have resulted from a ‘coup de grace’ shot to dispatch a previously wounded animal. The analysis of the wound data from the carcase trunks, in combination with data collected in a previous study, indicates that the initial wound tracts in all the deer appeared to have lower mean terminal probabilities than subsequent wound tracts, and that this effect is exacerbated during the rut.